This site has many important features that require Javascript. Your browser does not currently have Javascript enabled. Please follow these instructions to enable JavaScript in your browser. Thank you.

The following countries had no data:Angola, Botswana, Djibouti, SADR, Seychelles, Somalia

Alternative Data Sources

Unmet Need for Family Planning

What does it mean ?

This indicator is the percentage of women aged 15-49 (of reproductive age) in marital or consensual unions who do not want any more children or want to delay the birth of their next child for at least two years, but are not using contraception.

Why does it matter ?

Women who are able to practice good family planning do better in terms of their socio-economic status, education, empowerment and health. The percentage of women who have an unmet need for family planning can tell us about the reach and quality of a country’s healthcare system.

How is it collected ?

A national survey was undertaken in each country from a representative sample of households where women were asked if they would like more children, or to wait to become pregnant again, or have they finished childbearing. Those that could conceive were asked if they used contraception. A woman had an unmet need for contraception if she did not want any more children or wanted to delay her next birth for at least two years, but was not using contraception.

Find out more about the Summary Definition and the Methodology for Collection and Calculation

Share this :

Close

Summary Definition, Methodology for Collection and Calculation

Alternative Data Sources

The data for each indicator on African Health Stats (AHS) are published by the UN agency, or UN inter-agency group, which holds responsibility for global monitoring of the indicator. This varies by indicator. Please refer to ‘Data Source’. AHS uses data from these sources because such data are internationally comparable and it is the mandate of those agencies to prepare such data and monitor progress internationally. In some cases the UN agency has made adjustments to the data in order to make national data internationally comparable, for example they may adjust national estimates to account for differences in survey design, the extent of potential underreporting, and the definition of what is being measured (eg. maternal deaths). This means that at times there may be discrepancies between national and international estimates. Individual countries may prefer to instead rely on national figures for national monitoring. For uniformity, AHS uses only international estimates of the UN agencies in data visualisations.

A national survey was undertaken in each country from a representative sample of households during which women were asked if they would like more children, or to wait to become pregnant again, or whether they have finished childbearing. If they were fecund (able to conceive) at the time of the survey they were also asked if they were using a method of contraception. A woman was designated as having an unmet need for contraception if she did not want any more children or wanted to delay the birth of her next child, but was not using contraception. This indicator is the percentage of women who were experiencing unmet need at the time of the survey.

For more information, visit: http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Metadata.aspx

This site is managed by the African Union's Department of Social Affairs